Praetor's legacy

Chapter 26

"Octavian and I may not have been the best of friends in the past, but just know that he saved all of our lives by sacrificing himself to close the Doors of Death. Don't take him for granted. His skills were very rare and took a lot of talent to do. Can anyone else here raise their hand if they can see the future? No one? You see, Romans, Octavian's gifts were a help to this camp in times of need. I'm just sorry that we couldn't have gotten over our differences earlier, so that I didn't have to see how special he really was only right before his sacrificial death."

"Dakota was an insanely special man, soldier, and Roman. Who else could get a buzz off of Kool-Aid? Who else could lead soldiers into battle like he could? I know that we are all going to miss him greatly. It just doesn't feel right to be standing up here without him. He was my centurion, and now he's gone. He was very special to all of us in some way. Camp just doesn't seem right without his goofiness and red-stained mouth. We have lost an amazing person to this horrible war, along with countless others. I hope someday our camp can recover from the losses of these young, but talented, Romans. I know that our hearts ache with the loss, but they wouldn't want us to grieve and give up on our duties. Dakota especially. Let's try to get through this grief together."

The eulogies didn't seem to stop. Percy ended with one eulogy and then was asked to write another for another fallen soldier. The grief-stricken faces just looked at him with such a sadness and hopelessness that he couldn't say no. "Of course," Percy kept answering. How could he say no to someone who was grieving for the loss of someone very close to them. Like how Dakota was so close to Gwen...

"Has anyone seen Gwen lately?" Percy shouted to a group of nearby centurions.

"We haven't seen her since the homecoming of the soldiers, Praetor," said the centurion closest to Percy.

Percy stood from his high-backed chair. "I'll be back soon. I'm going to go check up on Aidan and Gwen."

The centurions inclined their heads. "Of course, Praetor."

Percy speed-walked to Gwen's apartment. How could he have forgotten how close Dakota and Gwen were? They were co-centurions and close friends. She was probably trying to stay strong for Aidan's sake.

Gwen with a tear-stricken face stared at him from the back of his mind. His legs burst into a fast jog. The apartment quickly came into focus before his eyes.

His fist knocked thrice, quickly one after the other after the other. No answer.

"Gwen? It's Percy. May I come in?"

The door slowly swung open. Gwen's face was blank, no emotions breaking through her façade. "Hello, Praetor. Please, come inside. I'm sorry but you've just missed Praetor Reyna. She came to pick up Aidan not only ten minutes ago." Even her voice sounded void of emotion.

Percy sat on the couch and Gwen sat down next to him. "Don't try to be strong Gwen. Have you cried since the soldiers returned home?" Percy asked.

"I refuse to cry over something as brave and powerful as death." She looked away so quickly that he couldn't tell which emotions were in her eyes.

"Gwen, everyone cries. I know you're sad about him passing. You don't have to pretend around me, you know. We're friends."

"You can say his name. Dakota. He was my friend too. Sometimes, I thought he was a bit more than just a friend. I remember when you were in New York and we were in San Francisco, the group of soldiers Dakota and I were leading up the mountain were waiting for our cue to continue marching. Right before a centurion dropped his hand to give us the signal, Dakota grabbed me and kissed me so passionately that sometimes I still feel the tingle on my lips. We never talked about the kiss afterwards. I was always hoping that since he was the one who initiated it, that he would talk first."